Montclair, New Jersey, December 10, 2014: TechLaunch Founder and Angel Investor, Mario Casabona was honored last evening as the 2014 Immigrant Entrepreneur of the Year in a special ceremony held at the mansion on the Florham Park campus. This was the second annual ceremony for the NJ Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards, a coalition of county and bi-national chambers of commerce, business and advocacy groups who work together to build awareness of the importance of the immigrant population to New Jersey’s economy and to the national economy as a whole.

Commenting on the accolade, Mr. Casabona said, “This award marks a personal as well as professional milestone, and one that I only wish my Sicilian parents were alive to witness. As proud as I’ve been of other achievements in my life, this recognition really speaks to the grateful immigrant in me who was not only welcomed to this great country but presented with all the resources and opportunities that – together with lots of hard work – enabled me to become whoever and whatever I desired.”

Mario Casabona arrived in the United States from Italy at the age of five, the only child of his parents, Angelo (a barber) and Erminia (a seamstress) who raised their son with a strong work ethic and a grounded sense of confidence in his future as an American citizen. He became an electrical engineer and spent his entire career in NJ, creating his own defense technologies company, Electro-Radiation Inc. which, 22 years later was sold to Honeywell International in 2004. Not content to retire from the business landscape, Mario formed Casabona Ventures to invest in fledgling startups, and then became the Chairman of Jumpstart New Jersey Angel Network for four years before creating TechLaunch, NJ’s premier technology accelerator. In three programs, TechLaunch has launched 26 technology focused companies into the marketplace.

The NJ Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards were created to honor current first-generation immigrant business leaders whose lives and work have had a positive imprint on New Jersey communities. Historically, New Jersey’s immigrant entrepreneurs were responsible for the invention of the transistor, the submarine, Vitamin C, game theory, the chemical synthesis of penicillin, and instant coffee, just to name a handful. And iconic companies like Lipton Tea, Welch’s Grape Juice, Ballantine beer, and Colgate-Palmolive were founded by immigrant entrepreneurs who chose New Jersey for their homes and places of business. This year’s NJIEA winners come from South America, Africa, Europe and Asia. They hail from 10 countries, including Italy, China, Ethiopia, India, Lebanon, Mexico, Poland, Romania, Russia and Spain. They represent small family businesses as well as large corporations, ranging from high-tech firms to professional service providers, from manufacturing operations to food and financial institutions. Combined, the nominees employ thousands of people and do millions of dollars in sales.

Montclair, New Jersey, July 16, 2014: It was standing room only on Monday, July 14th at host campus Montclair State University to celebrate a third successful season for TechLaunch, NJ’s premier technology accelerator where this year, seven aspiring new companies pitched their startup dreams to an audience of angel investors, venture capitalists and business leaders. The Demo Day event marks the culmination of TechLaunch’s grueling 16-week business bootcamp training program, known as LaunchPad.

To get to LaunchPad, a rigorous selection process rooted out the best & the brightest teams and ideas, ranging from a retrofitted interactive tablet on a supermarket shopping cart to a specialized website which provides an exchange platform for borrowing pricey outdoor camping and sporting gear at a fraction of the cost of buying it.

TechLaunch Founder, Mario Casabona expressed it best when he observed, “As important as Demo Day is for the teams to formally present to an investor audience, it’s just the start as they go on to build their businesses, utilizing the training and resources offered to them during an exciting and challenging LaunchPad. The entire TechLaunch staff and I are very proud of them and look forward to their successes moving forward.”

TechLaunch Founder Mario Casabona Delivers Opening Remarks

So amid the cheers and tears of relief for surviving LaunchPad, the goal for each of the TechLaunch startups is simple: to use the training, guidance and support they received from all the Mentors and Advisors at the accelerator to go out and get the follow-on funding needed to grow their new companies to Success.

About TechLaunch:

Formed in collaboration with the NJ Economic Development Authority (EDA) (njeda.com) as a founding sponsor, TechLaunch, an investor led Technology Accelerator, was created in 2012 to drive the commercialization of emerging technology created by aspiring entrepreneurs. Since then it has launched 19 technology focused companies. TechLaunch provides a select group of emerging technology ventures with seed-stage funding, access to over 130 qualified mentors, business training, co-working space, key business services and exposure to qualified investors, through a proven 16-week business boot camp (LaunchPad) program. The program culminates in the July 14th Demo Day with Investor pitches and demonstrations of the developed products. To learn more please visit TechLaunch. Any media inquiries should be directed to Norma@TechLaunch.com.

For our list of 106 Jerseyans with the most juice, we went to the experts — The Star-Ledger reporters and Inside Jersey writers who cover and best know the state’s movers and power brokers.

We have divided the list into an array of categories that touch on all facets of Jersey life — from politics to literature to technology and celebrity — profiling the most influential Jerseyans in each area. The lists will be released all week. It’s a select group that we call the 100+ Club.

The schedule is as follows: On Monday, State Politics/Local Politics and Labor/Activism; OnTuesday, Law/Philanthropy and Business/Real Estate; On Wednesday,Technology/Health Care and Literature/Power Couples; On Thursday,Sports/Education and Arts/ Science; On Friday, Entertainment/Music and Food/Celebrity.

Read them each day and don’t forget to take our informal polls at the end of each post.

Technology

Inside Jersey’s Most Influential People in New Jersey

MARIO CASABONA. Founder and CEO, TechLaunch Who better to give fledgling start-up companies an insider’s perspective on how to raise capital than the man who has his name on the sign at Casabona Ventures? The seasoned angel investor is in his third year overseeing TechLaunch, an intense program to elevate New Jersey entrepreneurs who have their eye on making a big splash in the tech industry. Mario Casabona has used his connections in the worlds of finance, technology and business to help his newly minted CEOs and founders make friends in high places.

MARIAN CROAK. Senior Vice President of Domain, 2.0 Architecture and Advanced Services Development at AT&T This Princeton University alum returned to New Jersey in 1982 to take a job at AT&T’s Bell Labs, where she helped shape the company’s voice and data communications technology. Marian Croak, a distance runner and mother of three, was named to her present post in 2013. She holds more than 135 patents, has another 100 in the pipeline and oversees 2,000 innovation experts reshaping AT&T’s next-generation network architecture, advanced technology and innovation. Croak also mentors company employees and works diligently with organizations supporting minorities in her field.

DON KATZ. Founder and CEO of Audible, Chairman of Brick City Development Corp. The Montclair resident founded Audible in 1995 when listening to someone read a book meant visiting a preschool class or juggling a box full of cassette tapes. In 2007, he moved his company’s headquarters to Newark when there were no tax incentives to do so. Don Katz is a man of vision and convictions. He has become a dogged champion for Brick City, leveraging his influence to drive his dream that Newark be reborn as a hub of technology and innovation.

SHREEKANTH MANDAYAM. Executive Director, South Jersey Technology Park; Vice President for Research, Rowan University As someone who has performed research for NASA and GE, Shreekanth Mandayam knows how to unite the public and private worlds in the name of science. The IEEE Instrumentation & Measurement Society member climbed the ladder from associate professor to chair of Rowan University’s engineering department, then put the school’s new technology park on the map with tech park tenants studying rare earth metals, injectable man-made cells to ease back pain and 3-D screens that can be controlled with hand gestures.

SIMON NYNENS. Chairman, President & CEO, Wayside Technology Group; Chairman of the Board, New Jersey Technology Council A transplant from Ernst & Young’s offices in Amsterdam, this Harvard Business School graduate has ascended the corporate ladder at Wayside Technology and has been laser-focused on teaching other entrepreneurs how to do the same. Simon Nynens, who has a background in accounting, has made time to visit New Jersey’s business incubators and technology groups to talk about his own missteps in the hope that he will help business founders avoid the same pitfalls. Recognizing his dedication to the industry, the New Jersey Technology Council named Nynens public company CEO of the year in 2012.

Health Care

JOEL CANTOR. Director, Center for State Health Policy at Rutgers University Joel Cantor is the go-to guy for state lawmakers, policy analysts and the media when they need a nonpartisan expert to interpret the complex world of health care. The state awarded federal grant money to the center to study the Affordable Care Act’s impact. Cantor also served on a commission in 2007 that recommended how the state should respond to a crisis in the hospital industry that led to a flurry of closures.

DAVID KNOWLTON. President and CEO, New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute David Knowlton is not afraid to take on hospital executives, health commissioners and surgery center operators. The institute’s data-driven research has shed light on safety issues at same-day surgery centers and astronomical costs at hospitals. Knowlton has enduring political clout as deputy health commissioner under Gov. Thomas H. Kean and a member of Gov. Chris Christie’s transition team. He is part-owner of a medical marijuana dispensary in Egg Harbor.

MARY O’DOWD. Health Commissioner, state of New JerseyIn 2011, 33-year-old Mary O’Dowd was named state health commissioner. But her youth belies her expertise in hospital finance and management, honed at NYU Medical Center and the New Jersey Hospital Association. This will come in handy as she presides over the state’s most frenetic era ever of hospital mergers and acquisitions while the industry fights for its survival, post-Obamacare. The state’s medical marijuana program is finally gaining some traction.

BARRY OSTROWSKY. President and CEO, Barnabas Health Barry Ostrowsky presides over the largest health care system in New Jersey, serving more than 2 million people. He is also a risk taker. Within the past year, Barnabas Health agreed to serve as management consultant to University Hospital in Newark after it was left out of the Rutgers-Rowan merger, and to buy Jersey City Medical Center. In 2015, Barnabas Health will launch its own insurance plan that will be available on the health exchange.

WARD SANDERS. President, New Jersey Association of Health PlansBefore Ward Sanders became president of the New Jersey Association of Health Plans, the lobbying group for the managed care industry, he led the state-run small business and individual health insurance programs. It’s his understanding of how both sides of the health insurance industry work that makes him more than just an industry mouthpiece. Lawmakers wait to hear from him before they pass any laws or change rules.

Montclair, New Jersey – April 30, 2014: Last Friday the 25th, the New Jersey Business Incubation Network (NJBIN) celebrated the achievements of several companies from the 13 member incubators around the State. At the ceremony held at the impressive Rutgers EcoComplex in Bordentown, a handful of business leaders – among them Mario Casabona – were also recognized for their roles in driving new business development in New Jersey. Casabona is the Founder and President of TechLaunch, New Jersey’s premier technology accelerator, launched in 2012 and affiliated with Montclair State University.

“Both TechLaunch and NJBIN are dedicated to fostering a climate for economic growth in our State,” observed Mario Casabona, “so this recognition means a great deal to me, considering we are both fighting on the same side: for the benefit of the Entrepreneur.”

Suzanne Zammit, President of NJBIN, commented, “The New Jersey Business Incubation Network is pleased to give special recognition to Mario Casabona in appreciation for his support of New Jersey’s startup companies and entrepreneurs, most recently through TechLaunch, New Jersey’s Technology accelerator.”

About TechLaunch:

Formed in collaboration with the NJ Economic Development Authority (EDA) (njeda.com), TechLaunch, an investor led Technology Accelerator, was created in 2012 to drive the commercialization of emerging technology created by aspiring entrepreneurs. Since then it has launched 19 technology focused companies. TechLaunch provides a select group of emerging technology ventures with seed-stage funding, access to over 125 qualified mentors, business training, co-working space, key business services and exposure to qualified investors, through a proven 16-week business boot camp (LaunchPad) program. The program culminates on Demo Day with Investor pitches and demonstrations of the developed products. To learn more please visit TechLaunch. Any media inquiries should be directed to Norma@TechLaunch.com.

Montclair, New Jersey – May 7, 2014: Yesterday, New Jersey Lt. Governor, Kim Guadagno got a sneak peek at what it takes to launch a start-up from scratch when she attended one of the weekly workshops at TechLaunch, NJ’s premier technology accelerator.

“We’re basically at the half-way point in our 16-week LaunchPad bootcamp”, remarked TechLaunch Founder, Mario Casabona, who added, “The Lt. Governor’s personal interest in our efforts to provide a kick-start to aspiring tech entrepreneurs speaks volumes about the State’s support of small business endeavors. We were honored to share our day with her.”

Each Tuesday TechLaunch holds a professional workshop for its Class of Founders which addresses a key topic integral in building a business from the ground up. Yesterday’s topic: Business Models . . . without a solid one you’re basically up the creek without a paddle!

“We applaud the efforts of TechLaunch. In addition to providing seed money, this small business accelerator offers critical support through mentoring and business training” said Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno. “These services create a strong foundation to help young companies build their businesses, succeed and create jobs. The Christie Administration supports the work of

TechLaunch as they cultivate some of our brightest and most promising entrepreneurs.”

The culmination of all this hard work, plus the invaluable guidance from over 130 Mentors, is the Demo Day event on July 14th in which each TechLaunch team will do a formal pitch and demonstration to an audience of angel investors, venture capitalists, mentors and valued guests from around the state and the region. Stay tuned for Success!

About TechLaunch:

Formed in collaboration with the NJ Economic Development Authority (EDA) (njeda.com), TechLaunch, an investor led Technology Accelerator, was created in 2012 to drive the commercialization of emerging technology created by aspiring entrepreneurs. Since then it has launched 19 technology focused companies. TechLaunch provides a select group of emerging technology ventures with seed-stage funding, access to over 125 qualified mentors, business training, co-working space, key business services and exposure to qualified investors, through a proven 16-week business boot camp (LaunchPad) program. The program culminates on Demo Day with Investor pitches and demonstrations of the developed products. To learn more please visit TechLaunch. Any media inquiries should be directed to Norma@TechLaunch.com.

What started off as the usual demo day for the Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator in New York quickly showed how the JOBS Act’s new rules on fundraising have clamped down the way startups pitch—or have they?

Over and over, the audience at last month’s ERA demo day was told the companies on stage were not seeking funding, which was taken by many as a response to JOBS Act provisos that went into effect on Sept. 23 regarding general solicitation.

Thanks to some fuzzy language in the law, opinions vary greatly among demo day organizers across country such as the TechLaunch accelerator in Clifton, NJ and the Aggie Angel Network in College Station, TX on what triggers the rules.

Though there has been no regulatory crackdown yet, some publicly conducted demo days may walk the line of general solicitation for funding. Some say the rules apply if a startup pitches before any audience, others believe the law applies only if startups mention their funding aspirations.

General solicitation requires startups to make certain filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That can be a prohibitive drain on time and resources for startups that are just emerging—though the penalties can be even worse. If startups engage in general solicitation but do not comply with the filing rules, they may be banned from raising funds for one year.

On one hand, the federal law loosens the collar for startups to discuss with accredited investors their plans to raise funding. But differing interpretations on what constitutes a general solicitation have spurred changes at some demo days.

For the ERA team, that meant nixing public talk of funding. Meanwhile, some programs have limited attendance to their demo days to accredited investors only or barred reporters from writing about the presenting startups, and yet other demo days have made no changes at all.

In the past, TechLaunch CEO Mario Casabona says, startups freely presented their technology, financial projections, and funding needs at demo days. That changed in September when the general solicitation rules went into effect.

“We don’t know, as the promoters of demo days, where the boundaries are,” he says. “If you take the JOBS Act literally, we can’t even talk about projections or raising money.”

He believes demo days will not come to a halt, but predicts the focus will shift to technology descriptions rather than pitches that talk dollars and cents for investors. “Whoever is putting together demo days will have to be careful,” Casabona says.

There seems to be a bit of disconnect, he says, between what the rules imply and the reality of how deals get done. Even if offerings were made to startups after demo days, Casabona says, the nitty-gritty details such as negotiating the terms of the deals all happen privately rather than publicly.

TechLaunch had its most recent demo day, with investor pitches, on Sept. 19, days before the rules went into effect. But Casabona believes that will change for everyone in the future.

“We’re going to see more and more of the demo day format that ERA put together,” he says.

For now, though, there are different views on how the regulations should be handled, he says. “One interpretation is to continue doing business as you have been,” Casabona says. “I’ve heard others say you can’t even have demo day.”

With so many grey areas yet to be defined, he plans to keep a close eye on what develops. “I’m looking at the next six months to see how this shakes out,” Casabona says.

Getting the federal government, once the shutdown is over, to step in again to clarify how the rules apply to demo days might not be the best solution by his reckoning. “Whenever we get the government involved in telling entrepreneurs how to do business, I’m always a little reluctant on how successful that’s going to be,” Casabona says.

Organizations such as the Angel Capital Association, he says, are lobbying to make sure that rulings under the JOBS Act will not be too harsh and that where will be some flexibility on determining public versus private offerings.

Keeping regulators from becoming even more hands-on with startups, he says, may be crucial to the health of the nation’s innovation ecosystem. One of the advantages the U.S. possesses over other countries, he says, is letting entrepreneurs build their companies without bureaucratic hindrances.

“I’m concerned that things like the JOBS Act can put some roadblocks in the way of entrepreneurs’ ability to launch their startups,” he says.

In some cases, the potential effects of the new general solicitation rules on demo days have caught folks completely off guard. Phelan Riessen, co-founder of SD Tech Scene and app development firm Digithrive in San Diego, has been planning a demo for Nov. 7 and is now sorting out the differences between demos that show off products and pitches for investors. “I need to consider how we’re doing our pitch event,” he says.

The objectives for his forthcoming demo day, he says, are to give entrepreneurs some practice pitching and to show the community the type of startups San Diego is home to. Now, Riessen is in a bit of quandary. “I don’t know how we can do a pitch event without talking about financials,” he says.

Excising talk of money from the proverbial elevator pitch may be a challenge, but Riessen says he wants to keep the event intact and comply with the rules. He believes that startups looking for funding will have to separately meet with potential investors to vet them as accredited.

“It needs to be thought out to make sure we fall under the guidelines,” he says.

As planning for the event proceeds, Riessen says he is reaching out to legal experts for advice on how to proceed. For now, he continues searching for answers. “What is the breaking point?” he asks. “Where do we stop and say we can only do ‘this’ or we can only do ‘that’?”

Defining what constitutes a demo needs to be sorted out as well, says Omar Hakim, managing director with the Aggie Angel Network. “Some people might refer to a startup company’s pitch to an established angel group like ours as a demo day,” he says. “We don’t think of that as a demo day.”

Hakim says his network makes sure all attendees of such pitches are accredited investors. That way the startups can say they have not violated SEC rules. “We think going forward that element is unchanged,” he says.

The lack of consensus on demo day formats may contribute to the confusion on how the rules apply. Hakim says other organizations conduct their events far differently from his.

“They’re going to elevator pitch competitions, they’re going to ‘Shark Tank’-like public events where they pitch their companies,” he says. The concern is, he says, that the companies who pitch in such venues may be tripping up on general solicitation rules—with a one-year ban serving as a very stiff punishment for young companies.

“That’s like saying you’re barred from oxygen for a year,” he says.

This new risk factor has led Aggie Angel to closely scrutinize startups to find out who else the entrepreneurs have talked to and what other forums they have presented in.

“If we think they’ve been on a tear talking to lots of different groups and trying to raise money incorrectly doing general solicitation, this may put off our investment,” Hakim says.

Companies that spread too much information about their plans over the Internet might also draw unwanted attention from the SEC. “If we put money in there, it may go into a lockbox if the company gets barred from raising money for a while,” he says. “That puts our investment in jeopardy.”

Startups that simultaneously seek conventional investments and money from crowdfunding also raise concerns, Hakim says. “How do we know their crowdfunding activities haven’t triggered these problems?” he asks.

That may drive away angel investors who fear the penalty may kick in, he says. “Since we don’t yet have the full rules on crowdfunding this remains an unknown,” Hakim says. So far the available rules, he says, have added a layer of complexity to raising funds that startups had not considered before.

With the new regulations less than one month old, he says Aggie Angel is in wait-and-see mode.

“We’re going to look for more guidance from the SEC on how they’re going to interpret this,” he says. The Angel Capital Association, he says, also plans to bring the concerns of its members to regulators. “There’s some hope there maybe some course corrections,” Hakim says, “but this is now the law of the land.”

The breadth of what the new rules may cover could lead to a bit of overzealous self-policing, he says, that negatively affects the startup-investor ecosystem.

“The bottom line is I think there is going to be less investing occurring,” Hakim says. “That’s the opposite of what I think the JOBS Act is all about.”

João-Pierre S. Ruth is the editor of Xconomy New York. He can be reached at jpruth@xconomy.com and followed on Twitter @jpruth

August 20, 2013: Each year the New Jersey Technology Council (NJTC) honors the Garden State’s top technology companies and their leaders for their business accomplishments in technological collaboration, partnership and innovation. This year, Mario Casabona was selected by a distinguished panel of judges to be the recipient of the Legend of Technology Award, recognizing an individual who, over several decades, has had a significant impact on the technology industry in New Jersey. The award will be presented in Princeton on November 21 at a glamorous evening celebration of innovation and technology.

Stated Maxine Ballen, CEO and President of the NJTC, “We are thrilled to have Mario Casabona accept this award. This year was particularly difficult to select those being honored from the more than 50 nominations that came from deserving companies. The judges were truly challenged and did a terrific job in identifying companies and individuals that represent the best of the region’s technology community.”

“I am delighted and humbled to receive such a distinguished accolade as the Legend of Technology Award,” stated Mario Casabona. He added, “It’s even more humbling to realize how long I’ve been waving the flag for New Jersey’s technology community, and I guess the good news is that I feel I’ve only just started!”

About Mario M. Casabona:

Mario Casabona is an Entrepreneur and active Angel Investor. In 2011, Mario founded TechLaunch LLC (TechLaunch.com), NJ’s Technology Accelerator, which provides aspiring entrepreneurs critical seed funding, co-working space, LaunchPad (business boot-camp), mentors, and access to investors. He continues to serve as the CEO. In 2007, he founded Casabona Ventures, LLC (CasabonaVentures.com), a New Jersey based Company providing management services, strategic planning, and private equity (Angel) financing to early stage technology focused companies. Mr. Casabona is an Electrical Engineer and holds 12 national and international patents in the field of satellite-based navigation and communications. He lives in Morris County, enjoys mentoring, creating and operating new Companies, vacationing and spending casual time with family and friends in his NY State log home retreat.

About the New Jersey Technology Council:

The New Jersey Technology Council (NJTC) provides business support, networking opportunities, information, advocacy, and recognition of technology companies and their leaders. Founded in 1996, NJTC’s member companies work together to support their own enterprises while advancing New Jersey’s status as a leading technology center in the United States. The NJTC offers its member companies access to networking, financing resources, expertise and more. A private, not-for-profit membership organization, the NJTC fosters and grows a vibrant entrepreneurial spirit and nurtures a community where great ideas take flight.

For more information visit: www.njtc.org

About TechLaunch:

TechLaunch was created in 2011 to drive the commercialization of emerging technology created by aspiring entrepreneurs. It was formed in collaboration with Casabona Ventures (CasabonaVentures.com), Jumpstart New Jersey Angel Network (JumpstartNJ.com), NJ Economic Development Authority (EDA) (njeda.com), and successful entrepreneurs. TechLaunch provides a select group of emerging technology ventures with seed-stage funding, access to over 100 qualified mentors, business training, co-working space, key business services and exposure to qualified investors, through a proven 16-week business boot camp (LaunchPad) program. The program culminates on Demo Day with Investor pitches and demonstrations of the developed products. To learn more please visit techlaunch.com. Any media inquiries should be directed to Norma@TechLaunch.com.